LOS ANGELES – Cal State L.A.’s baseball team will kick off its 2010 festivities with its annual alumni game, which is set for Saturday, Jan. 23.
The Golden Eagles, who have 15 players returning from their 2009 squad, are ranked 34th in the NCAA Division II preseason poll published by Collegiate Baseball Newspaper. Cal State L.A. had a 32-17 overall record and finished third in the California Collegiate Athletic Association with a 21-11 mark.
Cal State L.A. will open its 2010 season on Monday, Feb. 1 at Cal Poly Pomona. The Golden Eagles will also play single games on three consecutive days at the Major League Baseball Academy in Carson on Feb. 4-6 and won’t play their home opener until Saturday, Feb. 13, with a non-conference doubleheader against CCAA rival Cal State Dominguez Hills.
The alumni game will be held on Jan. 23 at Reeder Field. Alumni batting practice will take place from 10:30 a.m. – 11:30 a.m. The 2010 Cal State L.A. team will take infield/outfield practice from 11:40 a.m. with the alumni following at 11:55 a.m. The game is scheduled to begin at 12:30 p.m.
The Golden Eagles have several key players returning in 2010, including senior Mario Ramirez, who led the Golden Eagles last year in hitting with a .415 batting average and was earned honorable mention All-America honors from the National College Baseball Writers of America. Ramirez, an outfielder last year, is set to catch for Cal State L.A. in 2010.
Senior outfielder Matt Miraldi, an All-West Region and All-CCAA selection, is another top returner. He hit 359 for the Golden Eagles last season. Cal State L.A. has most of its starting position players returning, including Ramirez, Miraldi, first baseman Max Moya (.309 average last year), third baseman Chris Matzner, shortstop Jesus Campos, second baseman Brendan McQuaid. Junior Nathan Pickett (4-2, 4.06 ERA last season) is the top starting pitcher returning. Senior Camron Collard, who led Cal State L.A. with a 3.70 earned run average last season, also returns.
Cal State L.A. has posted four straight winning seasons for the first time since 1965-68 and recorded 30 wins or more in three of the last four seasons. Cal State L.A. qualified for the four-team CCAA Championship Tournament for the third time in four years and narrowly missed out on an NCAA playoff bid.
Cal State L.A. is one of three CCAA schools to be listed in the Collegiate Baseball Newspaper pre-season poll. UC San Diego, which won the CCAA and the West Region last season, is No. 3 in the poll, while Chico State is 22nd.